Smiley Face

Last night's Bible study at Jamestown was rather unusual. In our time of sharing, we got the giggles. The strange thing was that everyone was more relaxed as a result, and the actual study time was more interactive.
I had a chat with Dr Bloem this morning :) I found out that St Helena does not have a doctor that interprets the x-rays - they are simply handed to the doctor that asked for them, and he interprets them. And.... it is all in the interpretation.
Dr Bloem fetched the offending x-ray, and could not find whatever it was that made the other doctor think that my lung had collapsed. There was an area (that I was familiar with from many previous x-rays) that showed "a bit of fibrosis" due to many years of infections and asthma - but other than that, we were both happy with the picture of my lungs.
The only suggestion that he made, was that I ease up a bit on the up hill walking, so as not to put additional strain on my heart.
On the way home after work I found ONIONS! We splashed out and had potatoes AND onions in our supper.
I went to the Deadwood Bible study this evening with a lighter heart, and we had a good time of sharing and Bible reading.

Bad Health Week

This past week has been a little difficult for me due to a chest infection that I picked up. I did not attend the Sandy Bay BWA, or Tuesday's Cape Villa Bible study or Wednesday's Deadwood study. An x-ray has revealed that the lower lobe of my right lung has collapsed. The doctor that I saw was not very communicative, but luckily Dr Sarel Bloem (no prizes for guessing his nationality) arrived back on the island on Sunday, so I will make an appointment with him and ask him numerous questions.
I only missed one day at work, but did some 'heavy breathing' for a few days. I hate feeling useless, and when my lungs are not working properly, it gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can still do office work.
The RMS arrived on Sunday. The Consulate needs extra temp staff during the week between its arrival at St Helena, and its return to South Africa. (The hotel is fully booked for these 8 days). So ... Arthur is working in the courtyard and garden area - sweeping, washing down tables, watering plants, etc. He spoke on the 'gospel hour' on Radio St Helena last Thursday, and will be sharing St Fm's gospel hour this coming Thursday afternoon with Tammy Williams. It is great that there is such a tolerance of straight gospel preaching on St Helena. We pray that it will have the desired result - lives changed and brought into a relationship with the living God.

Week's report

Instead of daily entries, I will be giving a summary of the week's events.

I am trying to get into a new routine – working during the day, and fitting my other activities around it. It is amazing how much can be fitted into a day that feels like it is already full. God gives the strength – I have to discipline myself to use that strength/energy wisely.

Because of the drilling that is being done by CAN France on the hills surrounding Jamestown, there is a lot more dust and grit in the air than usual. When I drew back the curtains to let more light into the lounge, I was amazed to see the state of the window sill that had been dusted a few days before. It looked as if someone had sprinkled a hand full of sand on it.

Due to the fact that the RMS has been in dry dock for over 5 weeks now, and we have not received our usual supplies every 3 weeks, there are a number of shortages (besides popcorn) at the moment. What is, however, in abundant supply is the odiforous, gas forming vegetable, cabbage. In SA it was a vegetable that seldom used up space in our fridge – except when I specifically wanted to make cole slaw. Well, we were been given locally grown cabbages by 3 different people, and our fridge needed clearing. Sooo... Graeme made sauerkraut and I cooked a cabbage stew. To my amazement, it tasted good. Graeme even asked for seconds. I sauted diced potato in oil and a few spices and herbs, then added a little minced pork (a common item on St Helena). Once these were nicely done, I added a good amount of chopped cabbage, and carefully stirred and watched that it did not overcook and turn brown.

At the Sandy Bay BWA, we are attempting to cut up, and turn unused men’s shorts into handbags, using the pockets that are already there, as pouches. We are doing this by trial and error. It will be interesting to see what the end results will be – maybe we will start a new trend on the Island.

On Thursday morning I went to visit Bev Kilner and baby in hospital. What a gorgeous little girl! She does not have the usual, almost blank, baby face, but already has clear features of her own. 8 lbs 6oz she was at birth, and that at 2 weeks early! I have been crocheting her a little baby blanket, but sadly have only got it 2/3rds finished. I will just have to give it to her for Christmas.

Good News club was a total “no show” this week. The boys are involved in football, which takes place at the same time, and a number of the girls are in guides and were required to help at a coffee morning at the Community Centre. I have to guard against discouragement.
Sunday School was attended by 6 out of the 10 regulars. As I was writing the memory verse (John 3:36) on the white board, one child shook her head and said, “No – God does not get angry!”.... It is easy to accept a loving, totally forgiving God, but not so easy to accept that He will not tolerate rejection of His Son.
Since Sunday School started at the beginning of May of this year, the children have collected 45 pounds (about R500) that they want to send to a group of AIDS orphans that live in a squatter camp in Welkom, South Africa. Here are some of them proudly displaying the money that they collected. Graeme is preaching through a series on "the sermon on the mount". This Sunday, he came to the section on adultery - a very sensitive subject on an Island where very few couples bother getting married. I thought that he handled it very well. Instead of finger pointing, he simply kept referring to "what the Bible says".

This morning, (Monday) a nasty cat from somewhere around here, came in through the back door while I was getting my breakfast, and "marked his territory" next to the dogs' feeding bowls. Both dogs AND Clawd chased him out. I tried wiping up the mess with vinegar water, but it did not help, and we now have a passage that smells of unwelcome cat. Grrrhh!!

Arthur preaches

Arthur preached today AND it was broadcast on the radio. He was rather nervous, but I enjoyed his sermon when he preached it for the third time in the evening at Jamestown. He spoke on the last 3 chapters of Daniel. He has a gift of making the Old Testament come alive, and a number of people gave positive comments about his sermon - even non church folk who listened to the radio. Excuse the badly exposed photo - I caught Art in one of the lighter moments of his sermon.

The prodigal returns

Clawd is back!! We awoke at about 6.00am to squeaky sounds at our bedroom door. And there sat 'His Nibs'! His one cheek was swollen and he limped on one back leg, but did not look too bad. He drank and drank water, and ate a lot of food, and just wanted to be cuddled. What a relief!

Only 2 children came to Good News club. We later found out that it was Tourism Day, and some were involved in Girl Guide activites.

Friday

My first pay day! Not much by S African standards, but all right by Saint ones. The work itself is ok, and I am beginning to get the hang of things. I am also slowly getting to understand the personalities that I share the office with.
There is very little time to fit everything in that needs doing after working hours. HOWEVER, Graeme has been wonderful in making sure that the kitchen is clean and tidy when I get home. Arthur did his best to clean the downstairs floors. I am sure that we will have worked out a new routine by the end of the month.

It is Bev Kilner's birthday, and we were invited to spend the evening with her and Tony and Alex (their 2 yr old) and the Terrys. We went to "The Sunflower Cafe". It is a home that also doubles as a restaurant. One has to book in advance, and then they cook in their kitchen, and serve you in their lounge/dining room. The lady served a lovely 3 course meal, which was impressive considering that they had no electricity for most of the day. No sooner had she served our dessert, than the lights went out again. We went back to Bev and Tony's home for coffee, but their lights were also out. We visited by candle light, and were lucky to have the lights come on long enough to boil the kettle before they faded again.
Bev is due to go in for her caesarian on Tuesday.
Graeme and I went to sleep still wondering where our Clawd could be, and hoping that he would come home soon.

Still no Clawd

While I was at work, Graeme (who is also fond of Clawd) rode around on his motorbike trying to find him, but to no avail. Clawd was supposed to have been neutered a month ago, but ANRD ran out of the medicines and sutures needed for the procedure, and he has to wait until the next shipment of medical supplies arrives in mid October. People who know cats have told us that he is most probably just experimenting with his newly formed hormones, and will come strolling back in a few days’ time. But others have warned us that a mature tom cat could have picked a fight with him because he was a threat to his territory...

Arthur did another session on ‘Gospel Hour’ on Saint FM. Tammy Williams ‘interviewed’ him, and he spoke about his struggle with dyslexia, and then dealt with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The 2 of them make a good team, and the gospel comes through loud and clear – even in Arthur’s strange gospel rap music.